U.S. copters support Iraqis fighting ISIS | CNN

U.S. Army Apache helicopters, like the one pictured here, have been used to support Iraqi troops in their fight against ISIS. Click through the gallery to see what other military assets the Pentagon has put into the ISIS battle.

Photos: U.S. military assets used against ISIS

JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty Images

U.S. Army Apache helicopters, like the one pictured here, have been used to support Iraqi troops in their fight against ISIS. Click through the gallery to see what other military assets the Pentagon has put into the ISIS battle.

The workhorses of the American fighter fleet, F-16s, have been used in dozens of strikes against ISIS. F-16s can travel 1,500 mph, or Mach 2, at altitude.

Photos: U.S. military assets used against ISIS

Master Sgt. Kevin J. Gruenwald/U.S. Air Force/File

The workhorses of the American fighter fleet, F-16s, have been used in dozens of strikes against ISIS. F-16s can travel 1,500 mph, or Mach 2, at altitude.

A F-15E Strike Eagle from the 391st Fighter Squadron takes off in July during a mission at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii. The F-15E Strike Eagle can carry more than 23,000 pounds of payload for air-to-ground and air-to-air combat. The plane has been in the Air Force inventory for three decades and is expected to be operational until at least 2035.

Photos: U.S. military assets used against ISIS

Staff Sgt. Alexander Martinez/U.S. Air Force/File

A F-15E Strike Eagle from the 391st Fighter Squadron takes off in July during a mission at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii. The F-15E Strike Eagle can carry more than 23,000 pounds of payload for air-to-ground and air-to-air combat. The plane has been in the Air Force inventory for three decades and is expected to be operational until at least 2035.

The A-10 Thunderbolt II, also known as the Warthog, joined the fight against ISIS in late 2014. The jets are specially designed for close air support of ground forces.

Photos: U.S. military assets used against ISIS

U.S. Air Force/FIle

The A-10 Thunderbolt II, also known as the Warthog, joined the fight against ISIS in late 2014. The jets are specially designed for close air support of ground forces.

U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptors saw their first combat during strikes on ISIS targets in Syria, the Pentagon said. The single-seat, twin-engine stealth fighter has a top speed of almost 1,500 mph. Here, a Raptor performs during the Australian International Airshow in March 2013.

Photos: U.S. military assets used against ISIS

AFP/Getty Images

U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptors saw their first combat during strikes on ISIS targets in Syria, the Pentagon said. The single-seat, twin-engine stealth fighter has a top speed of almost 1,500 mph. Here, a Raptor performs during the Australian International Airshow in March 2013.

The Air Force's B-1B Lancer bomber was introduced in the 1980s to carry out nuclear missions. The plane was adapted for conventional weapons missions in the 1990s and has flown in combat over Iraq, Kosovo and Afghanistan. Here a B-1B flies above Iraq in support of Operation New Dawn in February 2011.

Photos: U.S. military assets used against ISIS

Master Sgt. Adrian Cadiz/U.S. Air Force/File

The Air Force's B-1B Lancer bomber was introduced in the 1980s to carry out nuclear missions. The plane was adapted for conventional weapons missions in the 1990s and has flown in combat over Iraq, Kosovo and Afghanistan. Here a B-1B flies above Iraq in support of Operation New Dawn in February 2011.

F/A-18 jets and other aircraft used in strikes against ISIS have been launched from Navy carriers, including the the USS George H.W. Bush, a 103,600-ton aircraft carrier seen here in April as it transits the Strait of Hormuz.

Photos: U.S. military assets used against ISIS

US Navy/AP

F/A-18 jets and other aircraft used in strikes against ISIS have been launched from Navy carriers, including the the USS George H.W. Bush, a 103,600-ton aircraft carrier seen here in April as it transits the Strait of Hormuz.

EA-6B Prowlers are among the U.S. aircraft that took off from the USS George H.W. Bush during attacks on ISIS. The Prowler is used to support attack aircraft by jamming enemy radar and communications and obtaining tactical intelligence. Here, a Prowler -- seen at bottom -- flies in formation with an E-2C Hawkeye in June 2004.

Photos: U.S. military assets used against ISIS

U.S. Navy/Getty Images

EA-6B Prowlers are among the U.S. aircraft that took off from the USS George H.W. Bush during attacks on ISIS. The Prowler is used to support attack aircraft by jamming enemy radar and communications and obtaining tactical intelligence. Here, a Prowler -- seen at bottom -- flies in formation with an E-2C Hawkeye in June 2004.

The guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea, operating in international waters in the North Arabian Gulf, launched Tomahawk cruise missiles used against ISIS targets in Syria in some of the initial strikes on ISIS. The ship has a displacement of 9,589 tons and carries a crew of 370.

Photos: U.S. military assets used against ISIS

U.S. Navy

The guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea, operating in international waters in the North Arabian Gulf, launched Tomahawk cruise missiles used against ISIS targets in Syria in some of the initial strikes on ISIS. The ship has a displacement of 9,589 tons and carries a crew of 370.

On September 22, 2014, the United States fired 47 Tomahawk missiles against targets in Syria. Tomahawks are long-range subsonic cruise missiles used to take out high-value or heavily defended land targets. They were first used in Operation Desert Storm in 1991. Here, the U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Barry (DDG 52) launches a Tomahawk cruise missile in 2011.

Photos: U.S. military assets used against ISIS

U.S. Navy/Getty Images

On September 22, 2014, the United States fired 47 Tomahawk missiles against targets in Syria. Tomahawks are long-range subsonic cruise missiles used to take out high-value or heavily defended land targets. They were first used in Operation Desert Storm in 1991. Here, the U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Barry (DDG 52) launches a Tomahawk cruise missile in 2011.

The guided-missile destroyer USS Arleigh Burke, operating in the Red Sea, launched Tomahawk cruise missiles against ISIS targets in the first of three waves of attacks that began on September 22. The ship has a displacement of 8,373 tons and carries a crew of 370. It is part of the U.S. 5th Fleet.

Photos: U.S. military assets used against ISIS

U.S. Navy

The guided-missile destroyer USS Arleigh Burke, operating in the Red Sea, launched Tomahawk cruise missiles against ISIS targets in the first of three waves of attacks that began on September 22. The ship has a displacement of 8,373 tons and carries a crew of 370. It is part of the U.S. 5th Fleet.

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U.S. helicopter gunships support Iraqi troops battling ISIS, military sources say

It's unclear whether militants got past the perimeter of the base housing U.S. forces, a Pentagon spokesman says

CNN —

U.S. helicopter gunships supported Iraqi ground forces battling ISIS militants in al-Baghdadi, military sources said, an action that brings U.S. troops closer to combat.

On Saturday, the U.S. military said al-Baghdadi was “contested,” as Iraqi forces fought back.

The U.S. military Friday deployed attack helicopters against an ISIS assault on the strategic Ayn al-Assad Air Base about 15 kilometers (9 miles) south of al-Baghdadi, sources said.

Iraqi ground forces killed those attackers and the Apaches safely returned to base without firing a shot, the source said.

Robert Baer, a former CIA officer, said the battles may indicate a deepening involvement of U.S. troops in the fight against ISIS.

“I think what we’re seeing here is mission creep,” he said. “The Iraqi army is not up to the task. And without the United States Air Force and the military on the ground, a lot of these … bases would be overrun.”

Mark Hertling, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant general, said he thought the Iraqi army was improving.

“I think the Iraqi government is getting it back together and, yes, they do need help from coalition forces, U.S. forces right now,” he said. “But they’re coming around and they realize what a scourge this organization [ISIS] is.”

Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby described the battle at the air base, saying, “It looks like they at least got to the outer base limits. We’re still looking at this and it’s hard to say whether they breached the perimeter or not. But they certainly got to the perimeter level at the very least.”

He said 20-25 people led by suicide bombers made the attack. Most, if not all, of the attackers were wearing Iraqi military uniforms, Kirby said.

The base is huge – roughly the size of Boulder, Colorado, Kirby said. That city is nearly 25 square miles. And U.S. forces were “several kilometers” away from where the fighting happened, the Pentagon said in a statement.

Ayn al-Assad, the largest military base in western Anbar province still under government control, is where U.S. instructors train Iraqi pilots. Nearly 800 members of Iraqi security forces are training with coalition forces at the air base, the U.S. Central Command said.

And while military officials say the U.S. forces were not directly threatened in the skirmish, Kirby acknowledged that “no question that they’re close to danger.”

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The U.S. team there – some 400 strong – doesn’t feel immediately threatened, but do have the “right, responsibility, obligation to shoot back” should militants threaten them, Kirby said.

U.S. officials have repeatedly downplayed the possibility of renewed ground combat in Iraq after the expensive and divisive U.S. combat operation that drew to a close with the final withdrawal of troops in 2011.

But U.S. and coalition airstrikes do continue in the area.

From Thursday into Friday, aircraft from the international coalition against ISIS carried out eight airstrikes in Syria and seven in Iraq, CENTCOM said.

Five of the Iraq airstrikes targeted ISIS units and equipment near Ayn al-Assad. The other two attacked targets near Mosul and Sinjar.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the airstrikes killed at least 20 ISIS militants. One civilian died.

CNN’s Phil Black, said that Kurdish Peshmerga fighters were starting to move from the north toward the city of Sinjar, held by ISIS since the summer.

The militants’ seizure of the city provoked a major humanitarian crisis as its ethnic minority Yazidi population fled onto the rocky slopes of Mount Sinjar, where many became trapped without food and water.

The Kurdish fighters are on the offensive but face a long, difficult battle to win back the city from ISIS, whose fighters are firmly in control there.

On Thursday, ISIS attacked Peshmerga fighters in Sinjar, as well as Kurdish forces positioned north of Iraq’s second-largest city, Mosul, and the town of Ba’shiqa, east of Mosul.

As fighting on the ground continued, ISIS pressed forward with its propaganda campaign.

The organization released photos purporting to show ISIS attacks on security checkpoints near Ramadi and posted video purporting to show them parading captured Peshmerga fighters through the streets in cages. ISIS claims the video was shot in the Kirkuk province of Iraq.

ISIS offered up video showing them fixing roads in the al Nibai area, about 70 kilometers (43 miles) north of Baghdad.

CNN cannot confirm the authenticity of the images.